Y'all, there is a frightening amendment to the Mississippi constitution that is on the ballot for Nov. election this year. It's the "Personhood" Amendment which aims to overturn Roe v. Wade. If Mississippians vote Yes to this, then an embryo will be given the same legal rights as you and I, therefore any type of abortion will be made illegal, as well as stem cell research, some forms of birth control (IUD because it prevents implantation). IVF could possible be considered a crime if leftover embryos are used for research or discarded. If it is passed and taken to the extreme, a MS resident receiving fertility treatment, even out of out of state, could possibly be prosecuted for murder. I've always been pro-choice, although infertility has made me realize what a gift conceiving a child is, but there are some circumstances where abortion may be appropriate and really I don't think it is my business what another woman chooses to do with the life inside her within reason.
The ironic thing is that this PersonhoodUSA organization is headquartered in Arvada, Colorado, right down the road from Lone Tree. Coloradoans voted down similar attempts to change the constitution in Colorado, but have managed to gain ground in right wing conservative (and might I add less educated) states like Mississippi. Pray this will not come to pass. If it does, I'll be gettin' the hell out of here.
I'm ashamed to say that this movement started in my state of Colorado. It, of course, failed miserably so its national (deep pocket) supporters are taking it to the bible belt hoping that pro-lifers and bible thumpers will see beyond its legal flaws.
ReplyDeleteBecause the law would be so ridiculous it would be fought in court for years, costing tax payers a gazillion dollars. The way it reads, is a person exists the moment an egg meets a sperm (not even when implantation happens) and this embryo would have all the same constitutional rights as a living and breathing person.
This means: embryos could not be frozen (would you freeze a person?) so if you did an IVF cycle that produced 15 eggs and 12 fertilized you would have to transfer all of them or be considered a murderer. In actuality, people would collect 15 eggs and only fertilize 2 of them. If 0 fertilized, too bad. Do it again until you pick the right 2 eggs to fertilize.
Then there's the daily changes to law. Suddenly carpool lanes are open to pregnant women, you need an embryo passport and ID to travel with your in utero person and suddenly you have a tax deduction for someone hasn't been born yet.
It just doesn't work. I hope Mississippi bombs it like we did.
Wow...I really don't know how to respond to this. It's very frightening indeed. I don't understand how movements like this even gain momentum - it's just ridiculous and ignorant. I sure hope it doesn't get passed.
ReplyDeleteI live in CO and was soooooo grateful that this did not pass. It lost by a wide margin if I remember correctly. Hope that happens for you...
ReplyDeleteThat is just crazy. I agree with Jen how can stuff like this even be put on a ballot to vote, just crazy.
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